A Look at Relaxed Homeschooling: The Elementary Years

I was just amazed when again today Alec passed another multiplication minute.  He chose to try his hand at the 10's times tables (and with a minor malfunction of the timer had to do it twice).  He barely made it; but he did!  He was so proud of himself too!  All 21 problems in 1 minute!

The older boys are really on their way to mastering these facts and I'm so proud of how hard both of them are working.  Once they were done their math minute they played another Knock It Off game-- this time they used the 12 sided dice and multiplied everything by 5.  There was some bickering but mostly I just ignored it and they were laughing by the end since they, once again, tied one another!  We love these free printable math games that focus on multiplication facts.

While they were playing their math game, Evan and I were playing the mitten memory game again.  He really was so excited when he saw me bring out those cards.  I definitely noticed a huge difference in his ability during this game from the last time we played.  We did not need any counters at all and he figured out all the answers by adding on. 

 We finished Odd and the Frost Giants--  have I mentioned just how much we LOVED this book? It's fantastic!  The boys have already convinced me to let them watch Thor now but I have to say I've seen the movie and it is NOTHING at all like the book.  Other than having three of the same main characters there are no other similarities.. at all.   It's just a great cute story and my boys are using it as an excuse to watch a non- school movie on a school day.  I'm letting them do it too!

We finished up our read aloud time by listening to Edwina the Emu.  Another cute story about an Emu mom who goes looking for a job.  It was quite funny (but I think a bit too young for Ian to really enjoy). 

 
 
The boys went to watch the Mighty Ducks 2 and I got ready for lunch.  After lunch, Ian was kind enough to make a double batch of waffle batter for us to cook up for dinner tonight after karate.  We worked together to clean the kitchen and then the kids went to play.  Ian went outside for a bit and the other two boys locked themselves in Evan's room.  Evan ended up leaving for a sleep over and the other boys settled in to watch Miracle until it was time to get ready for karate.

Ian was so excited to attend his first class as an orange belt.  The boys have all been working so hard on karate and know so many Korean terms.  I can't believe everything they've learned by starting karate.  I often think they've been at it for years instead of just a few months.  I love the self- discipline they've learned, the manners they've picked up on and the focus and drive they've displayed.  Karate isn't always easy but they always give it their all.

They're learning that this focus helps them achieve more than they thought possible and it's carrying over into all other aspects of their lives.  It's wonderful! 

*Updated and reshared January 28, 2025